How To Start & How To Do Intermittent Fasting
One of the reasons I personally think Intermittent Fasting really took over is because of how easy it is to start it.
Literally, the only thing you should really decide before you start is which Intermittent Fasting schedule type you are planning to follow.
And before you make this decision, it is important to understand the various types of Intermittent Fasting. Thats how you will find the one that works the best for you and fits your unique lifestyle.
For your convenience, here are the most popular Intermittent Fasting Schedules.
What To Drink During Intermittent Fasting
To get all the health benefits of Intermittent Fasting such as fat loss, increased metabolic rate, lower blood sugar levels, boost in the immune system and others, you have to restrict from consuming any caloric food. But you can still consume non-caloric beverages because they do not break your fast and allow you to get all the benefits of fasting.
This is because non-caloric beverages do not cause the release of insulin, and as a consequence, do not interfere with fat burning and autophagy .
This would include:
- Plain black coffee
- Plain tea
Got more questions about Intermittent Fasting Drinks? Weve got more information in our blog post What Can You Drink During Intermittent Fasting.
How To Do Intermittent Fasting 16/8
Getting started with intermittent fasting sounds easy. All you have to do is skip a meal and stop snacking.
However, its often subtleties that make the difference between weight loss success and failure.
If you understand the following facts about nutrition and daily routine, you will be miles ahead of most intermittent fasting beginners.
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Lifestyle Changes That Complement Fasting
Weight loss is a top priority health goal for many of us. While intermittent fasting or nutrient restriction is often an effective way of achieving weight loss, there are other lifestyle factors that are key to maintaining your metabolic health long-term. These include things like exercise, adequate sleep and stress management.
You can help your body accelerate and maintain weight loss and your broader health with the following lifestyle interventions that complement fasting.
So Which Intermittent Fasting Schedule Is Best For Weight Loss Whichever One You’ll Actually Stick To Tbh
In short, the one that’s easiest for you to follow. “It is all about sustainability for the individual,” says Lemein. “If one of these diets work well for you and your lifestyle and preferences, then you will likely see some success. If not, then you’ll likely not see the results you’re are looking for, as the sustainability piece will not be there.” That means picking a diet that work best with all the lifestyle factors you need to consider, like your work schedule, family dynamic, living situation, commute time, and travel commitments, notes Lemein.
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It’s worth pointing out, though, that the 16:8 diet seems to be the most doable for a lot of people who are into IF. The 16:8 method also scores points for preventing overeating at night, which can often be a big obstacle for weight loss. And sticking to an eight-hour eating window during daylight hours allows your metabolism to run as itâs supposed toâyou fuel up for energy during the day , and stop eating for rest and recovery at night, per a 2017 article in the journal Nutrition Reviews.
The bottom line: All intermittent fasting schedules may lead to weight loss if you can follow them sustainably, and the 16:8 method may be the easiest way to follow an IF diet.
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Health Benefits Of : 4 Warrior Diet
The Warrior Diet is a form of intermittent fasting. However, its important to note, the 20:4 isnt backed by any research. The diet was created by Ori Hofmekler and is based on his own observations and experiences during his time in the Israeli Special Forces.
There is no evidence directly linking a 20:4 fast with any of the benefits of intermittent fasting. Although there is some preliminary evidence that fasting on a 20-hour cycle or 24-hour fast may result in body fat loss and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
In some rats and mice studies, alternate day fasting for 24-hours did result in up to 30% overall calorie reductions, however, the results were mixed and the health benefits insignificant. The research was also not conducted using the Warrior Diet which is a daily regime.
The Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting For Men
Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating where a person cycles between eating and fasting.
There are different variations of intermittent fasting.
Some people may only do it a couple of times a week, while others do it every day or every other day.
The benefits of intermittent fasting for men may slightly outweigh the benefits for women, but that should only be viewed as a positive result for men.
The research is clear that intermittent fasting is beneficial for both men and women.
Here are just a few of the benefits of intermittent fasting:
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Types Of Intermittent Fasting
How to intermittent fast is important because you want to maintain proper nutrition in your overall diet and not put yourself at unnecessary risk. Weight loss is never a one-size-fits-all approach, says Taylor. Intermittent fasting may be sustainable for some people, while others find that this approach just isnt for them.
If you want to try intermittent fasting, youll first need to figure out how youre going to incorporate this style of eating into your life, especially when it comes to things like social events and staying active, she advises.
Ready to explore your options? Here, Taylor explains some of the most popular intermittent fasting methods.
1. Time-restricted eating
In this option, you have set fasting and eating windows. For example, you fast for 16 hours of the day and are able to eat for only eight hours of the day.
Since most people already fast while they sleep, this method is popular. Its convenient, as you extend the overnight fast by skipping breakfast and not eating until lunch. This form of fasting is a safer bet for many people who are interested in trying intermittent fasting for the first time, says Taylor.
Some of the most common ways are:
- The 16/8 method: Only eating between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- The 14/10 method: Only eating between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
This method of intermittent fasting can be repeated as often as youd like or even done once or twice a week whatever your personal preference is.
2. The twice-a-week method
Mistake #: Not Sticking With If Long Enough
It takes any system in the body approximately two weeks to change. If youve tried IF in the past for a few days but felt foggy, exhausted, and hungry, thats because your bodys metabolic systems hadnt adapted yet to a fasting schedule.
Give IF a minimum of two weeks, and youll notice how much better you feel in the fasted state.
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/8 Intermittent Fasting Times
For example, in the 16/8 method, you eat lunch at noon and dinner at 8 PM. During this 8-hour eating window, snacks are generally allowed.
This way, your body can fast for the remaining 16 of the 24 hours in a day.
Since you sleep 8 hours during the fasting period, there are only 8 hours of fasting while awake.
The fasting period from 8:00 pm to the next days noon ensures that your entire digestive tract rests for 16 hours at a stretch.
Therefore, to start 16/8 Intermittent Fasting, all you have to do is skip breakfast.
After mainly highly processed products are put on the table, breakfast is the most important meal of the day but only for the food industry.
Because the body increases adrenaline, glucagon, growth hormone, and cortisol levels, we wake up in the morning. For this reason, energy levels are even more stable when fasting until noon than in the case of breakfast.
You will recognize this fact by your increased productivity once you get used to 16/8 and unlearn the hunger in the morning.
However, if you have exceptional work schedules, you can just as quickly eliminate evening or lunch and have success.
As long as you maintain a continuous fasting period of 16 hours, you can flexibly integrate 16/8 intermittent fasting into any daily routine.
How To Successfully Do The : 4 Intermittent Fast
The Warrior Diet plan involves fasting for 20 hours during the day followed by overeating in a 4-hour window at night.
For example, you may set your feeding window at 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. During this time you can eat as much as you want with an emphasis on unprocessed, organic whole foods particularly those high in dietary fats and protein.
After 10:00 pm, you fast or eat very small portions of specific foods such as raw fruit and vegetables until 6:00 pm the next day. Its important youre eating as fewer calories as possible during this time.
The method is best suited for people who have tried intermittent fasting before or who already consume a low-carb/ketogenic diet.
Hofmekler recommends you follow a three-week, three-phase plan initially before starting the Warrior Diet. This helps the body adapt to the eating and fasting schedule and become accustomed to using body fat as energy. This three-week introduction includes:
Once you have completed the three-phase diet, it is recommended you start it again before following the 20:4 guidelines.
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What Does It Do To Your Body
Intermittent fasting is a great way to lean out without going on a calorie-restricted diet. Most often, calories remain the same when you start intermittent fasting.
If you dont count calories and focus on eating real foods, youll adjust your meal schedule by eating your normal meals in a smaller time frame. If you lift weights, intermittent fasting is a good way to keep your muscle while getting lean.
The main reason people try intermittent fasting is to lose fat. Well talk about how intermittent fasting leads to fat loss in a moment.
In a fasting state, your body can recover from workouts, replenish its hormonal cycles, and focus on all the functions it must do with the distraction of the digestive process.
Modified Alternate Day Fasting
Most of the research supporting Modified Alternate Day Fasting has been performed by Dr. Krista Varady who wrote the book, The Every Other Day Diet.
The modification allows you to eat about 25% of your normal caloric intake on your fasting day, which is often simplified to allowing 500 calories on those fasting days.
My husband, Keith, and I experimented with this method and found it very doable.
Positive weight loss and health benefits uncovered from the research show that modified alternate-day fasting is worth a look .
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Helps To Promote Weight Loss
Typically the go-to result that people want out of hardcore fasting, is to lose weight which can be done quite effectively with this method.
Because this fast pushes your body into a metabolic process that results in fat loss, you will start to see pounds melting away without losing muscle mass.
This is thanks to metabolic ketosis, something that only starts about 16 hours into a fast, and gets more effective the longer you stay fasting for even more weight loss.
My Experience With Intermittent Fasting
Im going to share my intermittent fasting experience as it pertains to my day-to-day activities and routine. As a full-time working mom to three kids, Ive grown to be flexible since no two days are alike.
Below is a sample schedule, on a weekday, where I juggle the kids-work-life routine daily. The schedule below follows a 16-hour fasting schedule, 8-hour eating window.
6:15 am: wake up. Grab black coffee, get dressed, top off black coffee in a to-go cup, and fill up a 24-ounce water cup.
6:45 am 7:45 am: school drop-off loop and head straight to workout.
7:45 am 8:45 am: early morning workout. Whether its a morning run, weights, yoga, or spin movement happens here. I drink water during the workout.
8:45 am 9:00 am: head to the office. Drink water only with Naked Unflavored BCAAs.
9:00 am: I make a Bulletproof coffee at the office.
12:00 1:00: eat lunch somewhere in this hour.
3:00 pm 4:00 pm: grab an afternoon snack. Usually consists of a smoothie with avocado, non-dairy milk, chocolate protein, chia seeds, and ice.
6:30 pm 7:45pm: eat dinner. Depending on the evening activities, dinner can happen anywhere in this timeframe.
8:00 pm: cease all meals .
How do I keep myself from getting hungry in the mornings after a workout? I drink Bulletproof coffee. The recipe is below and you can read about the benefits of Bulletproof coffee for women here.
- Laura Fuentes
- 1 tablespoon grass-fed, unsalted butter or ghee
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Overeating And Potential Weight Gain
Restricting your intake to just 8 hours per day may cause some people to eat more than usual during eating periods in an attempt to make up for hours spent fasting. This may lead to weight gain, digestive problems, and unhealthy eating habits.
Interestingly, current research doesnt suggest that intermittent fasting leads to any more weight loss than typical diets that recommend overall calorie restriction. Both eating patterns may lead to modest weight loss .
If weight loss is your primary goal, you may therefore prefer to lower your calorie intake instead of fasting intermittently to prevent the overeating that may occur when restricting intake to a certain time window.
How Much Weight Can You Lose On The 1: 8 Diet
If done so correctly, there’s a typical weight loss of around seven to 11 pounds over a ten week period, according to a review of studies by Sydney Medical School . They found, on average, someone weighing 90kg would lose 5% of their body weight in 10 weeks.
But how much weight you lose on the 16:8 diet depends on eating fewer calories than you’re burning. According to a leading study by the University of Vienna , this energy deficit can be achieved in many ways – but is ultimately the only method of weight loss. When you eat food, your body metabolises it to create energy used for daily activities – everything from breathing to walking around. If you have more energy than your body uses, the extra is mainly stored as fat. If you have less energy than what your body can burn, your body will turn to fat stores for energy. This is the calorie deficit.
While intermittent fasting has benefits, eating in a 8-hour period alone will not automatically mean you lose weight. The plan is just one way to achieve the deficit without having to count how many calories you burn in a day . The given eating time aims to automatically restrict the amount of food you can eat, leading to weight loss.
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Types Of Intermittent Fasting For Women
Before I dive into which fasting schedule tends to work best for the female body lets first look at the different types of intermittent fasting.
Daily 12 to 16 hours fastsFor a 12 hour fast, you would eat between 8 a.m 8 p.m. A 16-hour fast would have an eating window between 12 p.m and 8 p.m.
24 Hour fastsNo food intake for a full 24 hour period done once or twice a week.
5:2 FastsConsists of 5 days with regular eating and 2 fast days in which calories are reduced to 500-600.
Alternate Day FastingFasting every other day. Some versions allow 500 calories on fast days.
Youll Likely Feel Hungry
Even an 8- or 12-hour fast might feel like a long time when youre not used to fasting.
You may go to bed hungry several times per week. That may naturally feel unpleasant and unsustainable in the long term .
Plus, at times, it might be necessary to override your natural hunger and fullness cues in order to not break your fast earlier than planned.
This doesnt mean that fasting isnt a schedule you can get used to. Once youve adjusted to intermittent fasting, you might even find it makes you feel less hungry (
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Intermittent Fasting Schedules For Weight Loss
Video | 12:12 | 16:8 | Warrior Diet | OMAD | Fat Fast | 5:2 Diet | Alternate Day Fasting | Mod. Alternate Day Fasting | Extended Fasts | Instinctive Intermittent Fasting
Adding intermittent fasting to your diet is an effective way to throw your metabolism a curveball, keep insulin levels low, and encourage faster weight loss. The intermittent fasting method that you follow will have a lot to do with what fits into your lifestyle. In this post, discover ten ways to fast.
Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting
Can intermittent fasting improve your health? Recent research has found that using intermittent fasting for weight loss may have some benefits in the short term.
It appears that fasting for a short time can produce ketosis, which is a process that occurs when the body doesn’t have enough glucose for energy, so it breaks down stored fat instead. This causes an increase in substances called ketones. This, coupled with fewer calories consumed overall, can lead to weight loss. Research suggests that alternate-day fasting is about as effective as a typical low-calorie diet for weight loss.
Fasting also affects metabolic processes in the body that may work to decrease inflammation, as well as improve blood sugar regulation and physical stress response. Some research shows this may improve conditions associated with inflammation like arthritis, asthma and multiple sclerosis.
Little long-term research has been done on intermittent fasting to examine how it affects people over time. As a result, long-term health benefits or risks are unknown.
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